Prioritized display of visual content in computer presentations

ABSTRACT

Implementations relate to prioritized display of visual content in computer presentations. In some implementations, a computer-executed method includes obtaining first visual content and second visual content associated with the first visual content, where the first and second visual content include a plurality of pixels. The method provides a display of a computer presentation by a display device, where the first visual content is displayed in a presentation area of the computer presentation. The method determines that a first presentation priority of at least a portion of the first visual content is reduced based on a determination that less than a threshold amount of the at least a portion of the first visual content has changed. In response to determining that the first presentation priority is reduced, the method improves a visibility of a display of the second visual content in the computer presentation.

BACKGROUND

The popularity and convenience of graphical displays and Internetcommunications have allowed computer presentations to become widelyused. For example, video or slide presentations of information can bedisplayed to people who may be physically present in areas such asconference rooms or remotely connected by computer networks. In somecases, speakers can provide verbal commentary to explain and describeinformation they are presenting via computer displays.

SUMMARY

Implementations of the present application relate to prioritized displayof visual content in computer presentations. In some implementations, acomputer-implemented method to prioritize display of visual content in acomputer presentation includes obtaining first visual content and secondvisual content associated with the first visual content, where the firstvisual content and the second visual content include a plurality ofpixels. The method provides a display of a computer presentation by adisplay device, where the computer presentation includes first visualcontent displayed in a presentation area of the computer presentation.The method determines that a first presentation priority of at least aportion of the first visual content is reduced based on a determinationthat less than a threshold amount of the at least a portion of the firstvisual content has changed, and, in response to determining that thefirst presentation priority is reduced, the method improves a visibilityof a display of the second visual content in the computer presentation.

Various implementations and examples of the method are described. Forexample, determining that the first presentation priority is reduced caninclude determining that, for at least a threshold period of time, lessthan a threshold number of pixels in the at least a portion of the firstvisual content have changed. Determining that the first presentationpriority is reduced can include determining that less than a thresholdnumber of pixels in the at least a portion of the first visual contenthave changed in their pixel values by at least a value threshold amount.Determining that the first presentation priority is reduced can includedetermining that a portion of the first visual content is reduced in thefirst presentation priority relative to presentation priorities of oneor more other portions of the first visual content. Determining that thefirst presentation priority is reduced can include determining that thefirst presentation priority is reduced relative to a second presentationpriority associated with the second visual content. The method canfurther include, in response to determining that the first presentationpriority is reduced, changing a respective visibility of the at least aportion of the first visual content and the second visual content in thecomputer presentation in accordance with the reduction of the firstpresentation priority.

Improving a visibility of the second visual content can include at leastone of: adding the display of the second visual content to the computerpresentation, and increasing a size of the display of the second visualcontent in the computer presentation. In some examples, a user pointercan be displayed in the computer presentation, the user pointer having adisplayed position in the computer presentation controlled by a user andreferencing the display of the first visual content, where determiningthat the first presentation priority is reduced can include determiningthat the position of the user pointer has been different than adisplayed position of the at least a portion of the first visual contentfor at least a threshold period of time. In another example, determiningthat the first presentation priority is reduced includes determiningthat the position of the user pointer in the computer presentation is atleast a threshold distance from a displayed position of the at least oneportion of the first visual content. The method can further includedetermining that the first presentation priority is additionallyreduced, and in response to such determination, further improving thevisibility of the second visual content by increasing the size of thedisplay of the second visual content.

The method can further include, after the improving the visibility ofthe display of the second visual content, determining that the firstpresentation priority is increased based on a second determination thatmore than a second threshold amount of the at least a portion of thefirst visual content has changed; and in response to determining thatthe first presentation priority is increased, improving the visibilityof the display of the first visual content in the computer presentation.For example, improving the visibility of the display of the first visualcontent can include at least one of: removing the display of the secondvisual content, changing a display position of the display of the secondvisual content, and decreasing a size of the display of the secondvisual content in the computer presentation. In some examples, a userpointer is displayed in the computer presentation, the user pointerhaving a position in the computer presentation controlled by a user andreferencing the display of the first visual content, where determiningthat the first presentation priority is increased can includedetermining that the user pointer has moved into at least a portion of adisplay area of the second visual content, and/or that the user pointeris pointing to a portion of the first visual content that is at leastpartially overlaid by the second visual content. In some examples, thefirst visual content can be included in a first data stream having aplurality of frames, and the second visual content can be included in asecond data stream having a plurality of frames, where the second datastream can include a visual representation of at least one userassociated with the computer presentation. For example, the first datastream can include a sequence of slides and the second data streamincludes audio data derived from verbal speech provided by the at leastone associated user.

In some implementations, a system to prioritize display of visualcontent in a computer presentation includes a storage device; and atleast one processor operative to access the storage device and operativeto perform operations. The operations can include obtaining first visualcontent and second visual content associated with the first visualcontent, where the first visual content and second visual contentinclude a plurality of pixels. The operations include providing adisplay of a computer presentation by a display device, where thecomputer presentation includes first visual content displayed in apresentation area of the computer presentation. The operations includedetermining that a first presentation priority of at least a portion ofthe first visual content is reduced based on a determination that, forat least a threshold period of time, less than a threshold amount of theat least a portion of the first visual content has changed. In responseto determining that the first presentation priority is reduced, avisibility of a display of the second visual content in the computerpresentation is improved.

Various implementations and examples of the system are described. Forexample, the operation of determining that the first presentationpriority is reduced can include performing motion detection on at leasta portion of the first visual content to determine that less than athreshold amount of the at least a portion of the first visual contenthas changed, and improving a visibility of the second visual content caninclude at least one of: adding the display of the second visual contentto the computer presentation, and increasing a size of the display ofthe second visual content in the computer presentation. The system canfurther include operations after the improving the visibility of thedisplay of the second visual content, the operations includingdetermining that the first presentation priority is increased based on adetermination that more than a threshold amount of the at least aportion of the first visual content has changed, and, in response todetermining that the first presentation priority is increased, improvingthe visibility of the display of the first visual content in thecomputer presentation by removing the display of the second visualcontent from the computer presentation.

In some implementations, a computer readable medium can have storedthereon software instructions that, when executed by a processor, causethe processor to prioritize display of visual content in a computerpresentation by performing operations. The operations include obtainingfirst visual content and second visual content associated with the firstvisual content, where the first visual content and second visual contenteach include a plurality of frames to be displayed in sequence, eachframe including a plurality of pixels. The operations include providinga display of a computer presentation by a display device, the computerpresentation including the first visual content displayed in apresentation area of the computer presentation. The operations includedetermining that one of the frames of the first visual content has beendisplayed in the presentation area for at least a threshold amount oftime, and, in response to the determination, improving a visibility of adisplay of the second visual content in the computer presentation.

Various implementations and examples of the computer readable medium aredescribed. For example, improving a visibility of the second visualcontent can include at least one of: adding the display of the secondvisual content to the computer presentation, and increasing a size ofthe display of the second visual content in the computer presentation.Furthermore, the operations can further include, after the improving thevisibility of the display of the second visual content, determining thatthe first presentation priority is increased based on a determinationthat more than a threshold amount of the at least a portion of the firstvisual content has changed, and in response to determining that thefirst presentation priority is increased, improving the visibility ofthe display of the first visual content in the computer presentation.Improving the visibility of the display of the first visual content caninclude at least one of: removing the display of the second visualcontent, moving the display of the second visual content, and decreasinga size of the display of the second visual content in the computerpresentation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example network environment which may beused for one or more implementations described herein;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method to determinepriority and visibility of displayed content in computer presentations,according to some implementations;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method todetermine priority and visibility of displayed content in computerpresentations, according to some implementations;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method todetermine priority and visibility of displayed content in computerpresentations, according to some implementations;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method todetermine priority and visibility of displayed content in computerpresentations, according to some implementations;

FIGS. 6-14 are diagrammatic illustrations of example display interfacesillustrating one or more features described herein; and

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example device which may be used forone or more implementations described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more implementations described herein relate to prioritizeddisplay of visual content in computer presentations. In someimplementations, a system can determine priorities of displayed visualcontent and provide changes in visibility of visual content in acomputer presentation (e.g., video presentation) based on thepriorities. Described features can allow for example, automaticallyimproving visibility of accompanying second visual content in adisplayed computer presentation when it is detected that the focus ofthe presentation may have shifted away from first visual content beingdisplayed. The features can also allow, for example, automatic reductionin visibility of the second visual content when presentation focus isdetected to have returned to the first visual content.

In some examples, a system can obtain and display first visual content,e.g., a stream or sequence of slides of information or other visualcontent. The system can also obtain second visual content, e.g.,associated with the first visual content, such as an accompanying videostream showing a speaker who provides verbal speech, e.g., commentaryrelated to the information presented in the first visual content. Thesystem can examine the first visual content and determine that thiscontent has a reduced presentation priority, and change the computerpresentation to improve the visibility of the second visual content. Forexample, the system can examine frames of the first visual contentstream to determine that a displayed slide has not changed significantlyfor at least a threshold amount of time (e.g., determine that the nextslide has not yet been displayed), thus reducing the presentationpriority of the currently-displayed slide. In some examples, the systemcan determine that one of multiple frames of the first visual contenthas been displayed in the presentation area for at least a thresholdamount of time. In some implementations, in response to a determinationof such display and/or lack of significant change in the first visualcontent, the system can add second visual content to the computerpresentation, e.g., a video stream depicting a speaker displayed over aportion of the display of the first visual content or in a main view ofthe presentation, etc. For example, this can allow viewers of thepresentation to view the speaker in a large display area after they haveviewed the information of a slide for an amount of time without thespeaker video obscuring any portions of the displayed slide.

Furthermore, the system can continue examining the first visual contentto determine if the presentation priority of the first visual contentincreases. Such an increase in presentation priority can cause thesystem to improve (e.g., increase) the visibility of the first displaycontent, e.g., by removing or reducing the size of the display of thesecond visual content and/or increasing the size of the first visualcontent. For example, the system can detect that a new slide isdisplayed in the first visual content (or some other change in pixelvalues occurs in the first visual content), which can indicate anincrease in the presentation priority of the first visual content. Thesystem can automatically remove the speaker video window from thecomputer presentation or can decrease the size of the speaker videowindow relative to its previous size. This can provide the new slidewith visual importance.

One or more features described herein allow visual presentations to beprovided more effectively. For example, a computer presentation candisplay particular content in a large size (e.g., full screen or in alarge window) and can also display additional content, such as videoshowing a speaker, in a large size when appropriate. These features canprovide clear display of information to viewers, e.g., on a singledisplay. Furthermore, in some implementations, the system may not haveto crop portions of the content or shrink the displayed size of contentwhen the content is the focus of the presentation, providing greaterclarity to viewers.

Such presentation can be assisted by the system automaticallydetermining presentation priorities of various content, e.g., whether itis appropriate to display the additional content or whether the focus ofthe presentation should remain on the particular content. For example,the system can examine how long the particular content has beendisplayed in the presentation and whether sufficient change has occurredin the content to provide focus on that content or to allow display oremphasis of the additional content in the presentation. Features canallow the system to automatically determine when a focus of thepresentation should be returned to the particular content and removal orreduction in size of the additional content in the presentation isappropriate. Features described herein can thus help improve theeffectiveness of displayed computer presentations without requiringmanual actions or intervention to adjust the display of content.Consequently, a technical effect of one or more describedimplementations is that computer presentation of content may be mademore effective with reduced time and resources expended.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example network environment100, which may be used in some implementations described herein. In someimplementations, network environment 100 includes one or more serversystems, such as server system 102 in the example of FIG. 1. Serversystem 102 can communicate with a network 130, for example. Serversystem 102 can include a server device 104 and a database 106 or otherstorage device. Network environment 100 also can include one or moreclient devices, such as client devices 120, 122, 124, and 126, which maycommunicate with each other and/or with server system 102 via network130. Network 130 can be any type of communication network, including oneor more of the Internet, local area networks (LAN), wireless networks,switch or hub connections, etc.

For ease of illustration, FIG. 1 shows one block for server system 102,server device 104, and database 106, and shows four blocks for clientdevices 120, 122, 124, and 126. Server blocks 102, 104, and 106 mayrepresent multiple systems, server devices, and network databases, andthe blocks can be provided in different configurations than shown. Forexample, server system 102 can represent multiple server systems thatcan communicate with other server systems via the network 130. In someexamples, database 106 and/or other storage devices can be provided inserver system block(s) that are separate from server device 104 and cancommunicate with server device 104 and other server systems via network130. Also, there may be any number of client devices. Each client devicecan be any type of electronic device, such as a computer system, laptopcomputer, portable device, cell phone, smart phone, tablet computer,television, TV set top box or entertainment device, personal digitalassistant (PDA), media player, wearable device (e.g., goggles orglasses, watch, armband, headset, jewelry, etc.), game device, etc. Someclient devices may also have a local database similar to database 106 orother storage. In some implementations, network environment 100 may nothave all of the components shown and/or may have other elementsincluding other types of elements instead of, or in addition to, thosedescribed herein.

In various implementations, end-users U1, U2, U3, and U4 may communicatewith the server system 102 and/or each other using respective clientdevices 120, 122, 124, and 126. In some examples, users U1, U2, U3, andU4 may interact with each other via applications running on respectiveclient devices and/or server system 102, and/or via a network service,e.g., a social network service or other type of network service,implemented on server system 102. For example, respective client devices120, 122, 124, and 126 may transmit communications and data to one ormore server systems such as system 102. In some implementations, theserver system 102 may provide appropriate data to the client devicessuch that each client device can receive communicated content or sharedcontent uploaded to the server system 102 and/or network service. Insome examples, the users can interact via audio or video conferencing,audio, video, or text chat, or other communication modes orapplications. A network service implemented by server system 102 caninclude a system allowing users to perform a variety of communications,form links and associations, upload and post shared content such asimages, text, video, audio, and other types of content, and/or performother socially-related functions. For example, users can participate incomputer presentations by viewing content streamed to their clientdevices originating from a different client device via a server and/ornetwork service, or originating from a server system and/or networkservice. In some implementations, a “user” can include one or moreprograms or virtual entities, as well as persons that interface with thesystem or network.

A user interface can enable display of images, video, data, and othercontent as well as communications, privacy settings, notifications, andother data on a client device 120, 122, 124, and 126. Such an interfacecan be displayed using software on the client device and/or acombination of client software and server software executing on theserver system 102, e.g., application software or client software incommunication with the server system. The user interface can bedisplayed on an output device of a client device, such as a displayscreen.

In some implementations, server system 102 and/or one or more clientdevices 120-126 can provide a presentation display application, e.g.,included in a communication application, provided as a video displayapplication, or other application. The presentation display applicationmay allow a system (e.g., client device or server system) to displayvisual content in presentations, some examples of which are describedherein. The display application can provide an associated user interfacethat is displayed on a display of the server system or client device.The user interface may provide various options to a user to selectdisplay modes, display window sizes, audio output selections, etc.

Other implementations can use any type of system and service. Forexample, any type of electronic device can make use of featuresdescribed herein. Some implementations can provide features describedherein on client or server systems disconnected from or intermittentlyconnected to computer networks. In some examples, a client device havinga display screen (or other display device) can display images andprovide features and results as described herein that are viewable to auser.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method 200 to determinepriority and visibility of displayed content in computer presentations.In some implementations, method 200 can be implemented, for example, ona server system 102 as shown in FIG. 1. In some implementations, some orall of the method 200 can be implemented on a system such as one or moreclient devices 120, 122, 124, or 126 as shown in FIG. 1, and/or on botha server system and a client system. In described examples, theimplementing system includes one or more processors or processingcircuitry, and one or more storage devices such as a database 106 orother storage. In some implementations, different components of one ormore servers and/or clients can perform different blocks or other partsof the method 200.

A computer presentation, as referred to herein, can include computerdisplay output displayed by a display device (e.g., display screen,projector, wearable display etc.) of a system (e.g., computer system,mobile device, laptop, cell phone, tablet computer, etc.). A computerpresentation has a displayed presentation area that can include manydifferent forms of displayed visual content, including text, symbols,images, figures, animations, video, patterns, colors, etc., and/or acombination of these. Each visual content can be displayed in thepresentation area of the computer presentation having its own displayarea, e.g., an area in the presentation area covered by the visualcontent. For example, the presentation area can include one or morestreams of video content, e.g., where each stream of video content canbe displayed in its own display area, e.g., a window or other definedarea. For example, each video stream can include a plurality of framesto be displayed in succession, where each frame is composed of multiplepixels (e.g., each frame can be an image in some implementations). Acomputer presentation and visual content data can be stored on one ormore storage devices of the system or otherwise accessible to thesystem, such as a connected storage device, e.g., a local storage deviceor storage device connected over a network. In various implementations,the visual content data can be obtained from a variety of sources, e.g.,memory, a database or archive accessed by the implementing systemlocally in the system or remotely over one or more networks, an album orother stored collection owned by a user, data uploaded by a user to aserver over one or more networks, etc.

In block 202 of method 200, the method obtains first visual content andsecond visual content. For example, in some implementations the secondvisual content can be associated with the first visual content. In someimplementations, the first visual content and/or second visual contentcan be any of various forms of content, e.g., one or more images, one ormore documents, pages, spreadsheets, or other visual information, ananimation sequence, a video, one or more pages or sections of text, acombination of various types of content (images, text, video, etc.),etc. For example, in some implementations, the first visual content andsecond visual content can be data streams each having a plurality offrames (or other images) displayed in succession. In some examples, thefirst visual content can be a video stream or image stream providinginformation (e.g., multiple successive slides or images), animation, orother content. The second visual content can include a video streamdepicting a speaker, narrator, or other user that is providing speech,e.g., commentary related to the first visual content. Audio datacorresponding to the first and/or second visual content can be stored orencoded in the first and/or second visual content or can be storedand/or provided separately from the corresponding content. For example,the audio data can encode the verbal speech (e.g., verbal commentary)provided by a speaker depicted in the video stream of the second visualcontent. Some examples are described below with reference to FIGS. 6-14.In various implementations, the first visual content and second visualcontent can be obtained from various sources (e.g., obtained fromdifferent sources or both obtained from same source), such as one ormore storage devices, communication channels (networks, wirelessbroadcast, etc.), cameras or other recording devices, etc. In someimplementations, the first visual content displayed in the presentationcan be a shared screen image, video, animation, or other content from asystem that is participating in (e.g., sending or receiving) thecomputer presentation. For example, the content can be provided from aclient device participating in a video conference, video/text/audiochat, or other type of communication that displays the computerpresentation to its participating systems. In some implementations,multiple participating client devices can each provide a differentportion of the displayed first visual content. Similarly, the secondvisual content can be provided from one or more systems participating inthe presentation. In some implementations, first visual content and/orsecond visual content can be received by the implementing system from aserver device, e.g., server system 102 of FIG. 1. For example, the firstvisual content can be provided as one or more documents, spreadsheets,slide presentation documents, or other data presentations.

In block 204, the method provides or causes a display of a computerpresentation to include the first visual content. For example, in someimplementations the computer presentation can be provided in apresentation window or other presentation area on a display device(e.g., display screen or projector), where the presentation area canfill the entire display area of the display device or a portion of thedisplay area of the display device. The computer presentation caninclude the first visual content displayed in its presentation area. Forexample, the first visual content can fill the entire presentation area.In some implementations, the first visual content can be displayed in aportion of the presentation area that is less than the entirepresentation area.

In some implementations, the first visual content is displayed in thecomputer presentation in block 204 as having the highest presentationpriority in the computer presentation than other visual content. Forexample, the first visual content can be considered the focus or primarysubject of the computer presentation. Accordingly, in suchimplementations, the second visual content can have a lower presentationpriority, e.g., the second visual content is not the focus or primarysubject of the computer presentation. For example, the display of thesecond visual content can be omitted from the computer presentation atthis stage of the method in block 204. In other implementations, block204 can display the second visual content in the presentation area aslower or secondary presentation priority, e.g., a secondary subject ofthe presentation. For example, the second visual content can bedisplayed within the presentation area having a smaller-sized displayarea than the first visual content. In various implementations, thesecond visual content can be displayed to the side of the first visualcontent, overlapped by a portion of the first visual content,overlapping a portion of the first visual content, etc.

In block 206, the method determines that a first presentation priorityof at least a portion of the first visual content is reduced. In someimplementations, such reduction can indicate, for example, that thefirst visual content is no longer the focus or primary subject of thecomputer presentation (e.g., has a reduced presentation importance). Insome implementations, the method determines that the first presentationpriority of the first visual content (or portion thereof) is reducedrelative to a second presentation priority of the second visual content.In some implementations, block 206 compares the first presentationpriority of the first visual content to a second presentation priorityof the second visual content, and determines that the first presentationpriority is less than the second presentation priority (e.g., thusdetermining that the first visual content is no longer the focus orprimary subject of the computer presentation). In some implementations,a reduction in the presentation priority of the first visual content canadditionally or alternatively be considered an increase in apresentation priority of the second visual content.

In some implementations, the method determines the reduction in thefirst presentation priority based at least in part on an examination ofthe first visual content. For example, the method can determine how muchof the first visual content has changed in amount of pixels and/or inchange in pixel values such as color or brightness. In someimplementations, a lack (or low amount) of change in the display of thefirst visual content (or a portion thereof) can indicate that the firstvisual content is approximately static, causing a reduction in thepresentation priority of the first visual content (or portion thereof).For example, the method can determine whether the first visual contenthas had less change than a threshold amount of change. In someimplementations, the method can determine how much of the first visualcontent has changed over a period of time, e.g., whether the firstvisual content has had less than a threshold amount of change for atleast a threshold period of time. In some implementations, if the firstvisual content includes a plurality of frames to be displayed insequence, the method can determine that one of the frames of the firstvisual content has been displayed in the presentation area for at leasta threshold amount of time. Some implementations of determining thereduction in the first presentation priority of the first visual contentare described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In someimplementations, a second presentation priority of the second visualcontent is increased in response to the reduction of the presentationpriority of the first visual content.

In some implementations, the method can receive directly signals orinformation (e.g., derived from or based on one or more sensors,user-controlled signalling devices, etc.) indicating whether the firstvisual content has changed by a threshold amount or more. For example,such information can indicate whether a command was received to advancea particular slide of the first visual content to a next slide of thefirst visual content in a sequence of slides. In some of theseimplementations, the method can directly check whether such informationhas been received and can determine to reduce the presentation priorityof the first visual content without performing an examination of thefirst visual content. For example, if the first visual content includesa plurality of frames displayed in sequence, the method can determinethat one of the frames of the first visual content has been displayed inthe presentation area for at least a threshold amount of time, by, e.g.,determining that a command has not been received to advance the displayof the first visual content to a next frame for the threshold amount oftime.

In some implementations, changes (if any) in the second visual contentcan be ignored in block 206, such that only a change in presentationpriority of the first visual content is examined. In someimplementations, a change (if any) in the second visual content can beexamined in addition to change in the first visual content. In theseimplementations, the amount of change in the first visual content andthe second visual content can be compared to determine whether the firstpresentation priority has decreased. Such implementations may beappropriate, for example, if the first visual content and second visualcontent are similar in type or presentation, e.g., both being videostreams with a lot of motion or other changes, both being slidepresentations having fewer changes over time, etc. For example, a changein the first visual content can increase the first presentation priorityby an amount that is proportional to the amount of change detected inthe first visual content over time. Similarly, a change in the secondvisual content can increase the second presentation priority by anamount that is proportional to the amount of change detected in thesecond visual content over time. The first and second presentationpriorities can be compared, and if the second presentation priority isbetter (e.g., higher) than the first presentation priority, the firstpresentation priority can be considered reduced relative to the secondpresentation priority. Similarly, if the first presentation priority isbetter (e.g., higher) than the second presentation priority (and was nothigher previously), the first presentation priority can be consideredincreased relative to the second presentation priority.

Some implementations can divide the first visual content into multipleportions, where each portion (or some of the portions) can be assignedits own presentation priority. For example, if the visual content is aslide presentation stream, each sentence or bullet point text portion ofa slide in the slide presentation can be considered a different portion(e.g., each portion defined based on the amount of non-text pixelssurrounding each text portion), and each such portion can have its ownpresentation priority. Some implementations can compare the presentationpriority of multiple portions of the first visual content to thepresentation priority of the second visual content, to determine whichfirst content portions have a lower presentation priority than thesecond visual content. In some implementations, the second visualcontent can be provided improved visibility (described below) ifdisplayed in positions of the computer presentation corresponding tothese lower-priority first visual content portions. In someimplementations, an increase or decrease in individual presentationpriorities of particular portions of the first visual content can bedetermined based on similar criteria as described herein. For example, auser pointer (or other indication of user/speaker attention or focus)that references a particular portion of the first visual content canincrease the priority of that portion and/or can decrease the priorityof non-referenced portions of the first visual content, some examples ofwhich are described below with reference to FIG. 5.

In block 208, the method improves (e.g., increases) a visibility of adisplay of the second visual content in the computer presentation. Thisblock can be performed in response to determining that the firstpresentation priority of the first visual content is reduced, as inblock 206. The improvement in visibility for the second visual contentcan be performed in a variety of different implementations.

In some implementations, the second visual content may not be displayedin the computer presentation prior to block 208 (e.g., and not displayedby the display device), such that only the first visual content wasdisplayed in the computer presentation in block 204. In some of theseimplementations, block 208 can initiate the display the second visualcontent within the computer presentation, thus improving the visibilityof the second visual content from none to some visibility in thepresentation. In some implementations, the second visual content mayhave been displayed in the computer presentation prior to block 208. Insome of these implementations, block 208 can cause the second visualcontent to improve in visibility compared to its display prior to block208.

In some implementations, the second visual content can be improved invisibility by being displayed with a greater display size than its sizeprior to block 208. For example, if the second visual content was notdisplayed in the computer presentation before block 208, then bydisplaying the second visual content in block 208, it will be a largerdisplay size than its previous display size of zero. In implementationsin which the second visual content was displayed in the computerpresentation prior to block 208, the second visual content can bedisplayed in a size larger than its previous displayed size. Forexample, the second visual content may have been displayed in a windowin the computer presentation, e.g., to one side of the first visualcontent, adjacent to, overlapping, or being overlapped by the firstvisual content, etc. In block 208, the second visual content can bedisplayed in a size larger than such previous display.

In some implementations, the second visual content can be improved invisibility by being displayed in at least a portion of the presentationarea of the computer presentation that displayed the first visualcontent prior to block 208. For example, if the second visual contentwas not displayed in the computer presentation before block 208, it cannow be displayed at least partially overlapping the display of the firstvisual content. If the second visual content was displayed in thecomputer presentation before block 208, then this second content can bechanged so as to overlap the first visual content at least partially (ifit did not overlap previously), or to overlap the first visual contentto a greater extent (if it did overlap previously). In someimplementations, previously to block 208, the second visual content mayhave been displayed in a secondary, smaller window or view relative tothe first visual content being displayed in a larger, main window orview of the computer presentation. These positions and/or sizes of thefirst and second visual content can be swapped in block 208 such thatthe second visual content is displayed in the main view and the firstvisual content is displayed in the secondary, smaller view.

In some implementations, the second visual content can be improved invisibility by changing the position of the display of the second visualcontent in the computer presentation in block 208. For example, theposition can be changed to a more prominent or noticeable position,e.g., near the center of the presentation area or near some otherhighlighted position in the presentation area. In some examples, thedisplay of the second visual content can be changed from a positionadjacent to the first visual content display to a position overlappingthe first visual content display, from a position closer to a border ofthe computer presentation to a position closer to a center of thecomputer presentation, etc.

In some implementations, the second visual content can be improved invisibility by changing one or more display characteristics of the secondvisual content. For example, the second visual content, or a portionthereof, can be displayed in a different brightness, contrast, or color(e.g., higher or lower depending on background brightness or color),with a flashing border or other patterned border (e.g., dashed line,etc.), with highlighted portions or objects, with an animated movingportion, etc. In some implementations, the second visual content can beimproved in visibility by zooming in on the second visual content, bychanging aspect ratio of the content, or by changing a displayresolution of the content, etc. In some implementations, the secondvisual content can be improved in visibility by changing the opacity ortransparency of the second visual content, e.g., increasing its opacityand/or decreasing its transparency. For example, the second visualcontent may have been previously displayed in the computer presentationwith a particular transparency such that other content (e.g., a portionof the first visual content) that is positioned at the same position asthe second visual content is partially displayed “through” the secondvisual content. In block 208, such a transparency can be reduced tocause the second visual content to appear more solid in its display suchthat other content at the same position is less visible through thesecond visual content.

Some implementations can change multiple characteristics of the secondvisual content to improve the visibility of the display of the secondvisual content. For example, the display of the second visual contentcan be both increased in size and can be displayed in at least a portionof the presentation area that previously displayed the first visualcontent. Various example implementations are also described below withreference to FIGS. 4-14.

The result of block 208 can provide any of various displayconfigurations or formats for the first visual content and the secondvisual content. In some examples, the first visual content can bedisplayed to fill the entire presentation area (which can be the entiredisplay area of a display device, in some implementations) and thesecond visual content can be displayed overlapping or overlaid on thefirst visual content (e.g., obscuring a portion of the first visualcontent). In some implementations, the first visual content can bedisplayed in a portion of the presentation area that is less than theentire presentation area, and the second visual content can be displayedin a different portion of the presentation area, e.g., adjacent to thefirst visual content, to one side of the first visual content, orotherwise within the presentation area. In some implementations, thesecond visual content can be displayed to fill the entire presentationarea (which can be the entire display area of a display device, in someimplementations) and the first visual content can be displayedoverlapping or overlaid on the second visual content (e.g., obscuring aportion of the second visual content). Some implementations can provideindividual presentation priorities of portions of the first visualcontent which can control or influence positions in the presentationarea where the second visual content can be displayed relative to theportions of the first visual content.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method 300 todetermine priority and visibility of displayed content in computerpresentations. Method 300 can be implemented, for example, on one ormore systems and devices similarly as described above for method 200 ofFIG. 2. In some implementations, method 300 can, for example, beperformed after second visual content has been improved in visibility ina displayed computer presentation as described above with reference toblock 208 of method 200 in FIG. 2. In some implementations, method 300can be performed for a computer presentation that includes displayedfirst and second visual content, or can performed for computerpresentations in other states or stages.

In block 302, the method provides a display of a computer presentationincluding first visual content and second visual content. For example,in some implementations the first and second visual content can beobtained and the computer presentation can be displayed in apresentation area on a display device similarly as described above inmethod 200. The computer presentation can include the first visualcontent and second visual content in the presentation display area.Various implementations can display the first visual content and secondvisual content in different configurations, sizes, and layouts. In someexamples, similarly as described above, the first visual content can bedisplayed to fill the entire presentation area (which can be the entiredisplay area of a display device, in some implementations) and thesecond visual content can be displayed overlapping or overlaid on thefirst visual content (e.g., obscuring a portion of the first visualcontent). In some implementations, the first visual content can bedisplayed in a portion of the presentation area that is less than theentire presentation area, and the second visual content can be displayedin a different portion of the presentation area, e.g., adjacent or toone side of the first visual content, overlapped by the first visualcontent, or otherwise within the presentation area.

In block 304, the method determines that the presentation priority of atleast a portion of the first visual content is increased. In someimplementations, such an increase can indicate, for example, that thefirst visual content has become a focus or primary subject of thecomputer presentation (e.g., has obtained greater presentationimportance). In some implementations, the method can determine that thepresentation priority of the first visual content (or portion thereof)is increased relative to a presentation priority of the second visualcontent. In some implementations, a reduction in the presentationpriority of the second visual content can additionally or alternativelybe considered an increase in a presentation priority of the first visualcontent.

In some implementations, the method determines the increase inpresentation priority based on an examination of the first visualcontent. For example, the method can determine how much of the firstvisual content has changed over a period of time similarly as for block206 of FIG. 2, e.g., by examination of pixels of the first visualcontent. A change (e.g., greater than a threshold amount of change) inthe first visual content (or a portion thereof) can indicate that thecontent has changed, thus causing an increase in the presentationpriority of the first visual content (or portion thereof). In someimplementations, the method can receive directly a signal or information(e.g., derived from one or more sensors, user-controlled signallingdevices, etc.) indicating that the first visual content has changed by athreshold amount or more, such that a visual examination of pixels ofthe first visual content may not be needed for the method to determineto increase the presentation priority of the first visual content. Someimplementations of determining the increase in presentation priority ofthe first visual content are described below with reference to FIGS. 4and 5. In some implementations, a presentation priority of the secondvisual content is decreased in response to the increase of thepresentation priority of the first visual content.

In some implementations, changes in the second visual content can beignored in this block, such that only a change in presentation priorityof the first visual content is examined. In some implementations, achange (if any) in the second visual content can be examined in additionto change in the first visual content, and the changes in the firstvisual content and the second visual can be compared to determinewhether the first presentation priority has increased, similarly asdescribed above for block 208. Some implementations can determine anincrease in presentation priority of a portion of the first visualcontent, similarly as described above for method 200.

In block 306, the method improves a visibility of a display of the firstvisual content in the computer presentation. For example, this block canbe performed in response to determining that the first presentationpriority of the first visual content is increased as in block 304. Theimprovement in visibility for the first visual content can be performedin a variety of different implementations.

In some implementations, if method 300 follows method 200 in which thesecond visual content was improved in visibility, block 306 can returnthe display of the first visual content to a prior level of visibilitybefore the second visual content was improved in visibility, e.g., priorto block 208 of method 200. For example, the second visual content canbe removed from the computer presentation in block 306, or can bereduced in size, can be moved to a different, less visible positionwithin the computer presentation (e.g., away from a center of thepresentation and closer to a border of the presentation), and/or can bepartially overlapped by the first visual content, etc. In addition oralternatively, the first visual content can be increased in size, can bemoved to a more visible position (e.g., closer to a center of thepresentation and further from a border of the presentation), can bedisplayed in at least a portion of the area of the computer presentationthat displayed the second visual content prior to block 306 (e.g.,displayed to overlap a portion or all of the display area of the secondvisual content), can be displayed to overlap a greater portion of thesecond visual content than prior to block 306, can be moved to a mainview area of the presentation (e.g., with the second visual contentbeing moved out of the main view area), can be changed in one or moredisplay characteristics of the first visual content (e.g., the firstvisual content (or a portion thereof) displayed in a different color,brightness, and/or contrast, with a flashing border or other patternedborder (e.g., dashed line, with a different zoom level, with differentimage resolution and/or aspect ratio, etc.), with highlighted portionsor objects, with an animated moving portion, etc.), etc. Someimplementations can provide multiple of these features to improve thevisibility of the display of the first visual content.

The result of block 306 can provide any of various displayconfigurations or formats for the first visual content and the secondvisual content. In some examples, the first visual content can bedisplayed to fill the entire presentation area (which can be the entiredisplay area of a display device, in some implementations) and thesecond visual content can be removed from the computer presentation. Thesecond visual content can alternatively be displayed overlapping oroverlaid on the first visual content (e.g., in a smaller size than theresult of block 208 described above), obscuring a portion of the firstvisual content. In some implementations, the first visual content can bedisplayed in a portion of the presentation area that is less than theentire presentation area, and the second visual content can be displayedin a different portion of the presentation area, e.g., adjacent, to oneside, or otherwise within the presentation area. In someimplementations, the first visual content can be displayed overlappingor overlaid on the second visual content (e.g., obscuring a portion ofthe second visual content). Some implementations can provide individualpresentation priorities of portions of the first visual content whichcan control or influence the locations in the first visual content thatthe second visual content can be displayed.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method 400 todetermine priority and visibility of displayed content in computerpresentations. Method 400 can be implemented, for example, on one ormore systems and devices similarly as described above for method 200 ofFIG. 2. In this example, the first visual content is a stream (e.g.,sequence) of slides of information, and the second visual content is avideo stream depicting a person (e.g., “speaker”) commentating on thefirst visual content slides. In one example scenario, the computerpresentation can be output in a video conference environment in whichmultiple users are viewing the presentation on their devices (e.g.,client devices of FIG. 1) that are remotely connected via networks(e.g., network 130) and/or server(s) (e.g., server system 102). Inanother example scenario, the computer presentation can be output in aphysical area such as a conference room, auditorium, or other area inwhich the speaker(s) and one or more viewers are physically present andviewing the presentation via one or more display screens and/orprojections by one or more projectors (and/or to which remote devicescan also connect via one or more networks). Other implementations canprovide other forms of first visual content and second visual content asdescribed in implementations herein.

In block 402, the method obtains a slide presentation stream as firstvisual content and obtains at least one speaker video stream as secondvisual content, where the speaker video stream depicts a speakerproviding commentary for the slide presentation stream. For example,both streams can include multiple frames (images) displayed in sequence.For example, the slide presentation stream can be a video stream orimage stream that includes a number of slide frames, where each slideframe is an image depicting one slide of the slide presentation. In someimplementations, multiple frames of the slide presentation stream areidentical, e.g., multiple frames depicting each slide. In someimplementations, one frame of the slide presentation stream can bedisplayed as one slide and can continue to be displayed until a commandto display the next slide of the slide presentation is received, atwhich point the next frame of the slide presentation stream can bedisplayed as the next slide. In some implementations, a single speakervideo stream is received, while in other implementations, multiplestreams of second visual content are received. For example, each speakervideo stream can be a video stream showing a different personparticipating in or associated with the computer presentation. Forexample, one or more of the second visual content streams can beselected for display in the computer presentation when a second visualcontent stream is to be displayed in the computer presentation asdescribed herein. In one example, a speaker video stream depicting theperson who is currently talking or providing commentary about thepresentation (e.g., the current or active speaker) can be selected fordisplay when a second visual content stream is to be displayed in thecomputer presentation, such that the speaker and the second visualstream can change over time at different points in the presentation.

In block 404, the method displays (or causes to be displayed) a slidefrom the slide presentation stream in a presentation area of a computerpresentation. For example, the slide can be a frame of the slidepresentation stream provided for display by a display device asdescribed above. In some implementations, a single slide can bedisplayed in the entire display area of the computer presentation, e.g.,filling an entire display screen or projection area. In someimplementations, the slide can continue to be displayed until a commandis received to display the next slide in the slide presentation. Someimplementations can omit the display of the speaker video stream inblock 404, such that only the slide of the slide presentation stream isdisplayed in the computer presentation. In some implementations, thespeaker video stream can also be displayed in the computer presentationin block 404. For example, the speaker video stream can be displayedhaving a reduced visibility compared to the slide, e.g., in a small sizein a corner of the presentation display area, partially overlapped, etc.

In block 406, the method determines whether there has been less than athreshold amount of change in the pixels of the displayed slide for atleast a threshold time period. The change threshold can be used toindicate that the slide has changed, e.g., to a next slide in the slidepresentation stream. For example, in some implementations, the methodcan examine the slide presentation stream and compare the currentlydisplayed frame of the stream (the current slide) to the last frameexamined by the method (e.g., the previous displayed slide of the slidepresentation stream). The method uses this comparison to determinewhether the currently displayed frame of the stream has had less changein its pixel content relative to the previously displayed frame of thestream than the threshold amount of change. For example, the thresholdamount of change can include a threshold number of pixels or percentageof pixels (of the entire slide) that provide an indication that a newslide has been displayed in place of a previous slide. In someimplementations, the threshold amount of change can be defined as athreshold number of pixels that have changed in their pixel values(e.g., color or brightness) by a threshold value amount or more. In someimplementations, the threshold number of pixels can vary based on imagesize (e.g., the larger the resolution of the image, the greater thethreshold number of pixels). In some examples, the threshold change canbe defined as a threshold percentage or ratio of pixels indicating thenumber of pixels that have changed in their values by a threshold valueamount (or more) as compared to the total number of pixels in the slidepresentation. In another example, the threshold change can indicate anumber of “information pixels” that have changed in their pixel valuesby a threshold value amount, or a percentage or ratio of informationpixels that have changed compared to total information pixels in theslide. The information pixels can be pixels that convey presentationinformation in the slide (e.g., pixels included in or part of textcharacters, symbols, figures, drawings, images, or other information),where non-information pixels can be pixels that are not included or partof such information (e.g., background pixels, “wallpaper” pixels, etc.).

In some implementations, various techniques for detecting changes inpixels in frames of a sequence can be used to determine the change inpixels. For example, in some implementations, motion detectiontechniques can be performed to identify changed pixels and/or to detect“motion” in pixels. In some examples, some motion detection techniquescan determine whether pixel values (e.g., colors and/or brightnesses ofpixels) have changed sufficiently to indicate motion of objects, motionof camera view, or other motion changes across multiple frames of a datastream e.g., a slide presentation stream, a speaker video stream, etc.For example, some motion detection techniques can detect whether athreshold number of pixels have changed in their pixels values asdescribed herein. For example, some implementations can set one or moremotion detection techniques to detect a predetermined threshold amountof motion in the first visual content, which can indicate the thresholdamount of change in first visual content described herein. Other motiondetection techniques can be used that detect whether the first visualcontent has changed.

The method can determine whether there has been less than the thresholdamount of change in the slide pixels for at least a threshold timeperiod. The threshold time period can be an amount of time that can beused to indicate that a particular slide has been displayed for a lengthof time sufficient to allow viewers of the computer presentation to haveviewed the information of the slide or desired portions of the slide.For example, in some implementations the threshold time period can be aconstant amount of time used for any slide, such as 20 seconds. In someimplementations, the threshold time period can be a variable amount oftime that can vary based on one or more conditions or characteristics ofthe currently-displayed slide and/or the computer presentation. Forexample, the threshold time period can be based on the amount ofinformation displayed in the slide, e.g., the amount of text, symbols,figure area, time duration of video or animation, and/or otherinformation displayed in the slide. In one example, based on the amountof information provided in the slide, the threshold time period can beadjusted for use in block 406 to check for pixel changes (e.g., the morewords or characters, the greater area of the slide that is covered bydiagrams or image objects, or the longer the animation or videodisplayed in the slide, the longer the threshold time period used inblock 406). Such a variable threshold time period may provide, forexample, a greater amount of time to viewers to read a larger amount ofinformation in the slide in contrast to shorter amount of time allocatedfor a smaller amount of information in the slide.

In some examples, the visual examination of slides from the slidepresentation stream can be performed by method 400 as a reliable androbust method to determine change in visual content. For example, method400 may not be able to receive information from the system controllingthe presentation that indicates that a user has commanded that the nextslide be displayed. Furthermore, in some cases, different systems mayuse different types of commands from users or automated commands toinstruct the display of next slides. By examining the frames of theslide presentation, the method can determine when a slide has changedfor any of a variety of systems using a variety of differentimplementations. In other implementations, the method can directlyreceive information indicating that a next slide has been displayed inplace of a previous slide (or has been commanded to be so displayed),such that the visual examination of pixels to determine the thresholdchange may not be needed.

If in block 406 a threshold change (or more) in pixels in the slidepresentation stream is found to have occurred within the threshold timeperiod, then the method can return to block 404 to display a slide inthe slide presentation. For example, this change in pixels can indicatethat a next slide of the slide presentation has been commanded to bedisplayed, e.g., by the speaker, other user, event (e.g., a slidepresentation time has expired), or program (e.g., display program hascommanded that a new slide be displayed), and indicates no reduction inpresentation priority of the slide presentation stream. In variousimplementations, the command to cause the next slide to be displayed canbe provided via a device (e.g., a user using a remote control or otherinput device providing an electronic signal to a device controlling theslide presentation display), via an audio command (e.g., a voice commandfrom a user and recognized using voice recognition techniques), via avisual command (e.g., a gesture or other signature motion performed bythe speaker in the speaker video stream (or other user) and detected andanalyzed using image analysis techniques), via sensors detecting usermotion or position (e.g., eye tracking, hand motion, etc.), or in otherways. In some implementations, slides may be configured to change totheir next slides automatically, e.g., after a predetermined amount oftime of display.

If less than the threshold change in pixels is determined in block 406to have occurred for at least the threshold time period, then the slidecan be considered to have a reduction in presentation priority. In block408, the method displays (or causes display of) the speaker video streamin the computer presentation with improved (e.g., greater) visibility.For example, in implementations in which the speaker video stream wasnot displayed in the slide presentation in block 404 (e.g., prior toblock 408), the speaker video stream can be displayed in thepresentation area of the computer presentation. For example, in caseswhere the slide of the slide presentation stream is displayed over theentire presentation area, or is displayed in a main view or majority ofthe display area of the display device, the speaker video stream can bedisplayed at least partially overlaid on the slide presentation stream,e.g., covering a portion of the displayed slide. This allows the speakervideo stream to be displayed in conjunction with the slide and allowsboth to be displayed in a large size relative to the available displayarea of the display device. In some implementations, the slidepresentation stream can be reduced in size and the speaker presentationstream can be displayed alongside the slide.

In some implementations, the speaker presentation stream may have beendisplayed in the slide presentation stream prior to block 408, andvisibility of the speaker video stream can be improved in block 408 invarious ways. For example, some implementations can increase the size ofthe speaker video stream compared to its previous displayed size. Forexample, a smaller speaker video stream window previously displayed(e.g., in a corner over the display of the slide presentation stream)can be changed to a larger speaker video stream window and displayed inthe presentation corner or in a more central location of the displayedpresentation area. Some implementations can swap the positions of theslide presentation and the speaker video stream to improve thevisibility of the speaker video stream. For example, if the slidepresentation stream was displayed in a main view of the presentation andthe speaker video stream displayed in a secondary, smaller view, thenthese streams can be swapped in the views in which they are presented.Some implementations can cause the speaker video stream to be emphasizedor highlighted as compared to previous display of that stream beforeblock 408. For example, the speaker video stream can be displayed with adifferent colored border, a color changed in a portion of the speakervideo stream, etc.

In block 410, the method determines whether there is at least athreshold change in the pixels of the slide presentation. In someimplementations, this change threshold can be the same as the changethreshold used above for block 406. In some implementations, a differentchange threshold can be used to in block 410 as compared to the changethreshold used in block 406. Some implementations can use apredetermined change threshold, and some implementations can use adynamically-determined change threshold, e.g., based on the particularcontent of the slide presentation, other slide presentationcharacteristics, and/or other related characteristics (e.g., speakercharacteristics, preferences of a controlling user, settings of adisplay application, etc.). In some implementations, block 410 need notconsider a time period threshold, e.g., a threshold change in slidepixels over any time period can qualify for an affirmative result ofblock 410.

If in block 410 a threshold change in pixels in the slide presentationstream is determined to have occurred, then the slide presentationstream has changed and is considered to have had an increase inpresentation priority. Thus, in block 412, the method reduces thevisibility of the speaker video stream. For example, the thresholdchange can indicate that the displayed slide has changed to the nextslide in the slide presentation, such that it may be useful to viewersof the presentation to view the entirety of the displayed next slidewithout any obstructions or distraction caused by improved-visibilitydisplay of the speaker video stream. Thus the method can reduce thevisibility of the speaker video stream.

In some implementations, the reduction in visibility can includeremoving the speaker video stream from the presentation area and/or fromthe display area of the display device. Some implementations candecrease the display size of the speaker video stream, can move thespeaker video stream to a different position within the slidepresentation or display area (e.g., to a less prominent positions suchas a corner of the presentation area), can swap the displayed positionsof the speaker video stream and the slide presentation stream, and/orcan overlap at least a portion of the speaker video stream with theslide presentation stream, etc. In some implementations, the reductionin visibility of the speaker video stream in block 412 can return thespeaker video stream to the same visibility it was provided prior to anyimprovement in visibility of the speaker video stream in block 408,e.g., the same visibility as in block 404. In some implementations, thereduction in visibility in block 412 can result in a different displayof the speaker video stream than in previous display (e.g., in block404), e.g., a different size than previously used for the speaker videostream before any improvement in visibility. In some implementations,the method can return to block 404 after block 412 to continue displayof the slide presentation with the new slide.

If in block 410, it is determined that a threshold change in pixels ofthe slide presentation stream has not occurred, then in someimplementations (not shown), the method can return to block 408 tocontinue display of the speaker video stream in the slide presentation.

Some implementations can provide multiple improvements or reductions tothe visibility of the speaker video stream and/or slide presentationstream. For example, if no threshold change in pixels of the slidepresentation stream has been found in block 410, then the method cancontinue to block 414 in which the method determines whether a secondthreshold time period has expired without threshold change in the pixelsof the slide presentation stream, e.g., where the second threshold timeperiod is a time period since the last significant change in pixels wasdetected in the slide presentation stream. In various implementations,the second threshold time period can be a longer time period than thethreshold time period used in block 406. For example, the secondthreshold time period can include the first time period examined inblock 406 initially and can include an additional time period. In someimplementations, the second threshold time period can be defined as anadditional time period occurring after the first threshold time periodof block 406.

If the second threshold time period has not expired, as determined inblock 414, the method can return to block 408 to continue display of thespeaker video stream in the slide presentation. If the second thresholdtime period has expired in block 414 with less than a threshold changein pixels of the slide, the method can continue to block 416, in whichthe method causes the speaker video stream to be displayed with furtherimproved visibility in the presentation area, e.g., with greatervisibility than the visibility provided in block 408. For example, ifblock 408 displayed the speaker video stream at a first size, block 416can display the speaker video stream at a second size that is largerthan the first size. In some implementations, if block 408 displayed thespeaker video stream at a first position within the presentation area,block 416 can display the speaker video stream at a second position inthe presentation area that is closer to a center of the presentationarea. In some implementations, blocks 408 and 416 can provide differenttypes of improved visibility in the display of the speaker video stream.For example, block 408 can display the speaker video stream at a largersize than in block 404 (or can display the speaker video streaminitially after its omission in block 404), and block 416 can swap thedisplay positions of the speaker video stream and the slide presentationstream such that the speaker video stream is positioned in a main viewin the presentation area.

For example, a slide having less than the threshold change for thesecond threshold time period of block 414 can indicate that the speakerhas been active (e.g., talking) for a longer time period withoutadvancing the display to the next slide. This may indicate that viewersmay value the speaker video stream more than the slide presentationstream, and the slide presentation stream can be further reduced inpresentation priority and/or the speaker video stream can be furtherimproved in visibility. In some implementations, further additional timethresholds and changes in visibility can be provided. For example, ifthe slide presentation stream has no threshold changes in pixels for athird threshold time period that extends beyond the second thresholdtime period, then the speaker video stream can be improved further invisibility and/or the slide presentation stream can be reduced invisibility in the presentation area. For example, the speaker videostream can be displayed to fill the entire presentation area and/or theslide presentation stream can be removed from the display of thepresentation area.

In some implementations, after block 416, the method can return to block410 to continue checking for threshold changes in pixels of thedisplayed slide presentation stream.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method 500 todetermine priority and visibility of displayed content in computerpresentations. Method 500 can be implemented, for example, on one ormore systems and devices similarly as described above for method 200 ofFIG. 2. In this example, the first video content is a stream (e.g.,sequence) of slides, and the second visual content is a video streamdepicting a person (e.g., “speaker”) commentating on the first visualcontent slides and controlling a visual pointer pointing to or otherwisereferencing a portion of a displayed slide.

In block 502, the method obtains a slide presentation stream as firstvisual content and obtains a speaker video stream depicting a speakerproviding commentary for the slide presentation stream. For example,both streams can be video streams including multiple frames to bedisplayed in sequence. In some implementations, block 502 can be similarto block 402 described above.

In block 504, the method displays a slide from the slide presentationstream in a computer presentation. For example, the slide can be a frameof the stream provided for display by a display device as describedabove. In some implementations, a single slide can be displayed in theentire presentation area of the computer presentation and/or can fillthe entire display area of a display device, e.g., an entire displayscreen or projection area. In some implementations, the slide cancontinue to be displayed until a command is received to display the nextslide in the slide presentation. Some implementations can omit thedisplay of the speaker video stream in block 504, such that only theslide is displayed. In some implementations, the speaker video streamcan also be displayed in the computer presentation in block 504. Forexample, the speaker video stream can be displayed having a reducedvisibility compared to the slide, e.g., in a small size in a corner ofthe presentation display area, partially overlapped, etc.

The method can also display (or cause to be displayed) a user pointer inthe display area of the slide or elsewhere in the presentation area ofthe computer presentation. In some implementations, the user pointer canbe displayed or caused to be displayed by a different method controllingthe display of the slide presentation. The user pointer points to orotherwise references a portion of the first visual content, e.g.,particular information of the displayed slide, such as a bullet pointsentence, a paragraph, an image, a drawing, a symbol, etc. The userpointer can be displayed as any of a variety of different shapes orsymbols in different implementations. For example, the pointer can bedisplayed as an arrow, circle, line, dot, icon or symbol, etc. Theposition of the user pointer in the presentation area can be based onuser input. In some implementations, the speaker (or other person) cancontrol the position of the pointer using an input device, e.g., astylus on a tablet sensing device, a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, atouchscreen, etc. Some implementations can determine the pointerposition based on voice commands from a user as recognized by a systemusing voice recognition techniques. Some implementations can determinethe pointer position based on visual commands from the speaker detectedin the speaker video stream and recognized by a system using image/videoanalysis techniques. For example, in some implementations, a system candetermine the pointer's position based on recognizing the verbalcommentary provided by the speaker using voice recognition techniques,and matching that commentary to a particular portion of the displayedslide. For example, if the system recognizes that the user is talkingabout a particular topic composed of certain words (e.g., recognizedwords that are not common words), the system can attempt to match thosewords or a phase including those words in the slide, and determine alocation in the slide to which the speaker is referring and at which thepointer is displayed (e.g., the pointer can be displayed overlaid in theslide, on or to the side of a paragraph or sentence that includes thematched, recognized words). Some implementations can determine thepointer position based on other user input, e.g., user motion orposition as detected by sensors connected to the system, e.g., user eyemotion and position, finger motion or position, etc. Someimplementations may combine two or more of the above techniques todetermine the pointer position.

In block 506, the method determines whether there has been less than athreshold change in the pixels of the slide presentation stream, andless than a threshold position change in the user pointer position inthe slide, for at least a threshold time period. For example, in someimplementations, to detect the change in slide pixels, the method canexamine the slide presentation stream and compare the currentlydisplayed frame of the stream (the current slide) to the last frameexamined by the method. The method may use this comparison to determinewhether the currently displayed frame of the stream has had less changein its pixels than the threshold amount of change as compared to thepreviously displayed frame of the stream. For example, this can beperformed similarly to the block 406 of FIG. 4, with a similar changethreshold and threshold time period as described.

The method also determines whether the user pointer position has had athreshold change in position during the threshold time period. Forexample, the method can examine the pixels of the display to detect thecurrent position of the user pointer (e.g., if the method 500 is itselfnot displaying the pointer, in which case it may know this positiondirectly based on received user input controlling the user pointer).Detection of a threshold position change can be implemented in variousways. In some examples, the method can determine whether the userpointer has changed its position greater than a threshold distance inthe presentation area (e.g., a threshold pixel distance). If the userpointer has moved greater than the threshold distance within thethreshold time period, the user pointer can be considered to have had athreshold change in position. In some implementations, a thresholdposition change can be detected as a different portion of the slide nowreferenced by the user pointer as compared to a previous referencedportion of the slide. For example, if the pointer has advanced to a nextor different bullet point sentence of the slide, then it can beconsidered a threshold change in position. In some implementations, themethod can determine change in position of the user pointer to adifferent sentence or bullet point via text recognition techniques,e.g., recognizing bullet point symbols, whitespace indicating newparagraphs or lines of text, etc.

If there has been at least a threshold change in slide pixels or userpointer position, then the method can return to block 504 to continuedisplay of the slide and the user pointer. For example, the thresholdchange in slide pixels can indicate that a next slide of the slidepresentation has been commanded to be displayed as described above. Athreshold position change in pointer position can indicate that thespeaker may be discussing a different topic or information that isreferred to by a different portion of the slide, and thus the attentionof viewers may continue to be directed to the slide. Thus, in this case,the method does not display the speaker video stream with an improvedvisibility.

If there has been less than a threshold change in slide pixels and inuser pointer position in block 506, then the method can continue toblock 508, in which the method displays the speaker video stream withimproved visibility in the computer presentation. In someimplementations in which the speaker video stream was not displayed inthe slide presentation in block 504 (e.g., prior to block 508), thespeaker video stream can be displayed in the slide presentation, e.g.,at any location not overlaying (covering) the user pointer and notoverlaying any portion of the slide that is referenced by the userpointer. For example, if the user pointer is pointing to particularinformation in a portion of the slide (e.g., a sentence, paragraph,figure, or image displayed in the slide), the speaker video stream canbe displayed in the slide so as not to cover or overlap thatinformation. In some implementations, the slide of the slidepresentation stream is displayed over the entire presentation area or isdisplayed in a main view or majority of the display area, and thespeaker video stream can be displayed at least partially overlaid on theslide presentation stream, e.g., covering a portion of the displayedslide. In some implementations, the speaker presentation stream may havebeen displayed in the slide presentation stream prior to block 508, andthe speaker video stream can be made more visible in block 508 invarious ways similarly as described above in FIG. 4, e.g. in block 408.The improvement in visibility of the speaker video stream, for example,can include a larger size, change in position within the presentationarea, etc., such that the speaker video stream does not cover or overlapthe user pointer and does not cover the portion of the slide that ispointed to by the user pointer as described above.

In block 510, the method determines whether the user pointer isdisplayed in or references slide information included in the displayarea of the speaker video stream in the computer presentation. Forexample, the user pointer may have been moved to a new location in thepresentation area of the computer presentation based on user input. Inone example, the speaker may have moved the pointer to point to adifferent bullet point, paragraph, or other information included in theslide because the speaker wishes to comment on or describe thatinformation. If the user pointer has been moved to a position at leastpartially covered by the display of the speaker video stream, or theuser pointer references information that is at least partially coveredby the display of the speaker video stream, it may be useful to reducevisibility of the speaker video stream to allow the pointer and/orreferenced information to viewed without obstruction by the speakervideo stream.

If it is determined in block 510 that the user pointer is displayed inor references slide information included in the display area of thespeaker video stream in the computer presentation, the method cancontinue to block 512 and reduce the visibility of the speaker videostream. For example, the speaker video stream can be removed from theslide presentation and/or from the entire display area, can be movedaway from the user pointer and its referenced information in the slide,can be decreased in display size so as to no longer obstruct the displayof the user pointer or information pointed to by the user pointer, canbe moved to a different position away from the center of thepresentation, and/or can be swapped out of a main view of thepresentation with the slide presentation stream, etc. In someimplementations, the reduction in visibility of the speaker video streamin block 512 can return the speaker video stream to the same visibilityit was provided prior to any improvement in visibility of the speakervideo stream, e.g., the same visibility in block 504. Someimplementations can reduce the visibility of the speaker video streamsimilarly as described above for block 412 of FIG. 4. In someimplementations, the method can then return to block 504 to display theslide presentation stream and user pointer.

If it is determined in block 510 that the user pointer is not displayedin and does not reference slide information included in the display areaof the speaker video stream in the computer presentation, the method cancontinue to block 514, where the method can determine whether there is athreshold change in the pixels of the slide presentation stream. In someimplementations, the change threshold used in block 514 can be the sameas the change threshold used above for block 506. In someimplementations, a different change threshold can be used in block 514as compared to the change threshold used in block 506. Someimplementations can use a predetermined change threshold, and/or someimplementations can use a dynamically-determined change threshold, e.g.,similarly as described above for block 410 of FIG. 4. In someimplementations, block 514 need not look at a time period threshold,e.g., a threshold change in slide pixels occurring over any time periodcan qualify for an affirmative result of block 514.

In some implementations, if the threshold change in pixels of the slidepresentation stream has not occurred as determined in block 514, thenthe method can return to block 508 to continue displaying the speakervideo stream in the slide presentation. If in block 514 a thresholdchange in pixels in the slide presentation stream is determined to haveoccurred, then the method can continue to block 512 to reduce thevisibility of the speaker video stream in the slide presentation asdescribed above (e.g., removed from the displayed presentation area,moved, swapped, etc.). For example, in some implementations the detectedthreshold change in pixels can indicate that a next slide of the slidepresentation has been commanded to be displayed and the speaker videostream should be reduced in visibility. In some implementations, themethod can then return to block 504 to display the slide in the computerpresentation and a user pointer.

In some implementations, a user pointer is not displayed in the computerpresentation, and the method 500 can determine that a particular portionof the slide is being referenced by a speaker or other user based onparticular user input. In some examples, the method can use userpositional input to determine a portion of the currently displayed slidethat is being referenced by the speaker or other user, without thedisplay of a user pointer in the computer presentation. For example, auser's touch input on a touchscreen or trackpad, or control of a mouse,joystick, trackball, or other input device can be sensed to determine aportion of the slide being referenced.

In some implementations, the method can use voice recognition techniquesto analyze voice data derived from verbal commentary spoken by thespeaker (and captured via one or more microphones) and determinerecognized text (e.g., words or phrases) in the voice data. The methodcan compare the recognized text from the voice data to text displayed inthe current slide of the slide presentation stream. If the recognizedtext matches particular displayed text in the slide (or is substantiallysimilar to the displayed text, e.g., has a threshold number of words orportions of words the same as the displayed text within a predeterminedamount of successive words), then the method can consider the matchedtext in the slide to be currently referenced by the speaker. Forexample, this can be treated as if the speaker had moved a displayeduser pointer to that matched text. The presentation priorities anddisplay of the slide presentation stream and speaker video stream can bedetermined based on the matched slide text being referenced similarly aswith a user pointer as described above (e.g., no position of a userpointer itself need be checked in some implementations).

In some implementations, a speaker's (or other user's) eye movements oreye positions can be used to determine which portion of the slide isreferenced by a speaker or other user and cause determination ofpresentation priorities and visibility of content similarly as describedabove with a user pointer. Eye trackers of any of variety of types canbe used to provide the eye input. For example, optical sensorspositioned near the speaker can sense the speaker's eye position and/ormovements as the speaker is looking at the displayed slide presentationand can determine the approximate location of the slide at which thespeaker is looking. In some examples, eye-attached sensors oruser-attached sensors can be used. The method can associate the closestinformation in the slide to the determined eye location of the speaker,such that the information is referenced by the speaker similarly as if auser pointer referenced the information as described above. Thepresentation priorities and display of the slide presentation stream andspeaker video stream can be determined based on user-referenced slideinformation similarly as when using a user pointer as described above.

FIGS. 6-14 are diagrammatic illustrations of example display interfacesshowing example computer presentations illustrating one or more featuresdescribed herein. Similarly labeled items across FIGS. 6-14 indicatesimilar parts and will not be described for each Figure.

FIG. 6 shows an example display interface 600 displayed by a displaydevice of a system, e.g. a display screen, display projector, etc.Interface 600 displays a computer presentation 602. In this example,display interface 600 includes menu options, e.g., from an operatingsystem or application program, and displays the computer presentation602 within the interface 600. In other cases or implementations, thecomputer presentation can fill the entire interface 600 (e.g., interface600 can fill the entire display area of the display device, such as adisplay screen or projector display area). In some implementations, thecomputer presentation 602 can be displayed by a single display device ofa computer device. In some implementations, data of the computerpresentation 602 can be transmitted over a network from a computerdevice such that the computer presentation 602 is displayed by displaydevices of one or more other computer devices, e.g., in a videoconference environment.

Computer presentation 602 can be a displayed presentation includinginformation or other output provided as text, images, video, graphics,animations, figures, etc. In this example, computer presentation 602includes first visual content that is a slide presentation streamsimilarly as described above for FIG. 4. The slide presentation streamcan present a single slide 604 at one time in the display interface 600,and can display other slides in place of slide 604 according to asequence from the slide presentation stream. For example, the next slidein the slide presentation stream can be displayed in response toreceiving an appropriate command from a user, by the system running anddisplaying interface 600.

Slide 604 can present one or more different types of information withinthe display area of the slide, including text, figures, images,animations, video, etc. In this example, slide 604 includes textinformation and graphical information (e.g., a logo or box).Furthermore, in this example, a user is associated with the slidepresentation stream. The user is a speaker providing verbal commentaryto accompany the displayed slides. For example, the speaker can berecorded by a video camera and included in a speaker video stream thatis being received by the system displaying interface 600. In the exampleof FIG. 6, the speaker video stream is being received and is notcurrently being displayed in the presentation area of the computerpresentation 602. An audio track providing the verbal commentary of thespeaker and which is included in and/or accompanying the speaker videostream can be output in conjunction with the display of the computerpresentation 602. In other implementations as described herein, thespeaker video stream can also be displayed in computer presentation 602at this stage.

In FIG. 7, the system has determined that the slide 604 has beendisplayed in presentation 602 with less than a threshold change in itspixels for at least a threshold time period (e.g., a process running onthe system may not have knowledge about user commands to change theslides, and so this process can examine the currently displayed slide ofthe slide presentation stream to determine whether slide changes haveoccurred). In some implementations, as described above, a thresholdchange can be at least a threshold number or percentage of pixels thathave changed in value (e.g., color, brightness, etc.), e.g., by athreshold value amount.

Since the slide 604 has not changed by a threshold amount for athreshold time period, the system can consider the slide to have beendisplayed sufficiently long to reduce the presentation priority of theslide. The system can improve the visibility of the speaker video streamin the computer presentation. In this example, the speaker video streamis newly displayed in the computer presentation. For example, the systemcan display the speaker video stream 606 as a window that depicts thespeaker. Speaker video stream 606 can display a continuous stream offrames depicting the speaker talking, making gestures, etc. For example,the speaker video stream 606 can be displayed in a corner of thepresentation area of the computer presentation 602, overlaid on thedisplayed area of the slide 604. Other implementations can display thespeaker video stream 606 and/or slide 604 in other ways, as describedherein, e.g., in examples described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

In FIG. 8, a next (different) slide 610 in the slide presentation streamis displayed in the computer presentation 602 e.g. in response to a usercommand. Slide 610 presents different information than the previousslide 604, e.g., different text in this example. The system hasdetermined that a significant change in the pixel values of thedisplayed slide has occurred relative to the slide 604. The system maytherefore determine that the slide presentation stream has an increasedpresentation priority and further, that the speaker video stream shouldbe reduced in visibility. In this example, the system removes thespeaker video stream from the presentation 602. Other implementationscan reduce the size of the speaker video stream, increase the size ofthe slide presentation stream (if appropriate), etc.

FIG. 9 shows an example display interface 900 displayed by a displaydevice of a system, e.g., similar to interface 600 of FIG. 6. Interface900 displays a computer presentation 902 and the system receives a slidepresentation stream and speaker video stream similarly as describedabove for FIG. 6. In this example, the presentation 902 previouslydisplayed only a slide from a slide presentation stream, similar toslide 604 as shown in FIG. 6. This slide was displayed without athreshold change in its pixels for a least a threshold time period, suchthat the speaker video stream 906 is now displayed. In this example, thesystem does not display the speaker video stream as a window 606displayed in a corner of the slide presentation stream as shown in FIG.7. Instead, in presentation 902, the size of the slide is reduced andreduced size slide 904 is displayed. In addition, presentation 902displays the speaker video stream 906 alongside the slide 904, in a sizelarger than the slide 904. In some example implementations, the speakervideo stream 906 may have been originally displayed similarly to speakervideo stream 606 of FIG. 6 (e.g., of smaller size and positioned in acorner of the slide presentation stream), and then can be displayed aslarger speaker video stream 906 for improved visibility if less than athreshold change was found in the displayed slide for the threshold timeperiod. In some implementations, the slide can be increased back to thesize shown in FIG. 6 and the speaker video stream can be removed fromthe presentation 902 if the displayed slide has at least a thresholdchange in pixels (e.g. when the displayed slide is changed to the nextslide of the slide presentation stream).

FIG. 10 shows an example display interface 1000 displayed by a displaydevice of a system, e.g., similar to interface 600 of FIG. 6. Interface1000 displays a computer presentation 1002 and the system receives aslide presentation stream and speaker video stream similarly asdescribed above for FIG. 6. In this example, the presentation 1002previously displayed a slide from a slide presentation stream in a main,larger view, and displayed a speaker video stream in a window in thecorner of the slide and overlapping the slide, similarly to thepresentation 602 as shown in FIG. 7. The system has determined that theslide was displayed without threshold change in its pixels for a least athreshold time period, such that the speaker video stream is nowdisplayed with greater visibility. In this example, the system hasswapped the slide and the speaker presentation stream such that the sizeof the slide is reduced and the size of the speaker video stream isincreased. The example resulting presentation 1002 is shown in FIG. 10,with an increased-size speaker video stream 1006 displayed in a mainview of the presentation 1002 and a reduced-size slide 1004 displayed ina corner and overlapping at least a portion of the speaker video stream1006. In some implementations, the slide and speaker video stream can beswapped again to positions similar to FIG. 7 if the displayed slide ischanged to the next slide of the slide presentation stream.

FIG. 11 shows an example display interface 1100 displayed by a displaydevice of a system, e.g., similar to interface 600 of FIG. 6. The systemreceives a slide presentation stream and speaker video stream similarlyas described above for FIG. 6. Interface 1100 displays a computerpresentation 1102 including a slide 1104 from the slide presentationstream. In this example, the presentation 1102 also includes a userpointer 1106 that points to a particular portion of the slide 1104. Forexample, the user pointer 1106 points to the text portion 1108 indicatedby the dashed box (the dashed box need not actually be displayed in thepresentation), e.g., a sentence or line of text associated with a bulletpoint. In some implementations, the speaker (or other user) can provideuser input to the displaying system via a control device, voicecommands, visual commands, etc., which controls the position of the userpointer 1106 on the displayed slide 1104.

In FIG. 12, the system has determined that the slide 1104 has beendisplayed in presentation 1102 without any changes in its pixels for atleast a threshold time period (e.g., a process running on the system maynot have knowledge about user commands to change the slides, and so thisprocess can examine the currently displayed slide of the slidepresentation stream to determine whether slide changes have occurred).The system has also determined that the user pointer 1106 has notchanged its position beyond a threshold distance from its previousposition for the threshold period of time.

Since the slide 1104 and pointer 1106 have not changed for a thresholdtime period, the system considers the slide to have been reduced inpresentation priority and improves the visibility of the speaker videostream in the computer presentation. In this example, the speaker videostream 1202 is newly displayed in the computer presentation as a windowthat depicts the speaker, e.g., in a corner of the presentation area ofthe computer presentation 1102 and overlaid on the displayed area of theslide 1104.

In some implementations, different portions of the slide 1104 can beconsidered to have their own independent presentation priorities. Forexample, a portion such as text portion 1108 that is pointed to by theuser pointer 1106 can be considered to have a higher presentationpriority relative to other portions of the slide, e.g., the other textportions associated with bullet points in slide 1104. Someimplementations can consider the presentation priority of indicated textportion 1108 to be higher than the presentation priority of other visualcontent such as the speaker video stream 1202 and/or other portions ofthe slide 1104. In some implementations, the speaker video stream isdisplayed over the slide 1104 (or otherwise located in presentation1102) at a location that does not overlay the portions of slide 1104that have higher presentation priority than the speaker video stream.For example, the speaker video stream can be restricted in its displaysuch that it does not overlay text portion 1108 and user pointer 1106,but can overlay the other portions of the slide 1104 which areconsidered to have a reduced presentation priority (e.g., a lowerpresentation priority than the speaker video stream in this example).

In FIG. 13, the system displays presentation 1102 including slide 1104that does not have at least a threshold change in its pixels, andincluding user pointer 1106 after the user pointer 1106 has been movedbased on user input. For example, the user pointer 1106 now points to aportion 1302 of the slide, such as a text portion associated with abullet point of the slide different than the text portion pointed to inFIGS. 11-12. In this example, a portion of the moved user pointer 1106overlaps a portion of the displayed speaker video stream 1202. Inaddition, a portion of the displayed speaker video stream 1202 overlapsor obscures a portion of the text portion 1302 pointed to by the userpointer 1106. Either of these conditions can cause the system to reducethe visibility of the speaker video stream, e.g., causing the speakervideo stream to no longer have any portion of its display area in thesame display area as the user pointer 1106 and the text portion 1302pointed to by user pointer 1106. For example, at this point in thepresentation, the user pointer 1106 and text portion 1302 can beconsidered to have a higher presentation priority, e.g., are a moreimportant focus of attention for viewers of the presentation 1102, thanthe speaker video stream 1202. Some implementations can cause thereduction in visibility of the speaker video stream if the user pointer1106 or text portion 1302 are positioned within a threshold distance(e.g., in pixels) of the speaker video stream.

In the example of FIG. 14, the system has removed the speaker videostream 1202 from the presentation 1102 based on the determinationsdescribed above for FIG. 13. Other implementations can reduce the sizeof the speaker video stream, move the speaker video stream to a positionfurther from the user pointer 1106 and/or further from the text portion1302, etc.

Various implementations can present various options to a user (e.g., aspeaker) to input parameters that can govern the determination ofpresentation priorities of visual content and/or a layout of displayingvisual content in a computer presentation. For example, the user can beprompted to input one or more predetermined threshold time periods,change thresholds, distance thresholds for user pointers, etc. The usercan be prompted to input one or more preferences as to displaying secondvisual content in relation to first visual content. In someimplementations, these preferences may be set by a speaker or anindividual viewer of the presentation. For example, if the computerpresentation is being viewed on multiple client devices, an individualviewer viewing the presentation at each associated client device canprovide preferences for the presentation indicating or influencing thedisplay of the presentation on the associated client device. Forexample, some viewers may prefer a full-screen slide view for a longerduration (e.g., a greater threshold time period) than aspeaker-specified threshold time period. In another example, someviewers may prefer a side-by-side presentation when speaker visibilityis improved and a full screen slide when speaker visibility is reduced,which is different than other viewers' preferences, etc.

It should be noted that the blocks of any of the methods describedherein can be performed in a different order than shown and/orsimultaneously (partially or completely) with other blocks, whereappropriate. Not all of the described blocks need be performed invarious implementations. In some implementations, blocks can beperformed multiple times, in a different order, and/or at differenttimes in the methods.

Methods described herein can be implemented by program instructions orcode, which can be executed on a computer, e.g., implemented by one ormore processors, such as microprocessors or other processing circuitryand can be stored on a computer program product including anon-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., storage medium), such asa magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor storage medium,including semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, aremovable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-onlymemory (ROM), flash memory, a rigid magnetic disk, an optical disk, asolid-state memory drive, etc. The program instructions can also becontained in, and provided as, an electronic signal, for example in theform of software as a service (SaaS) delivered from a server (e.g., adistributed system and/or a cloud computing system). Alternatively, oneor more methods can be implemented in hardware (logic gates, etc.), orin a combination of hardware and software. One or more methods can beperformed as part of or component of an application running on thesystem, or as an application or software running in conjunction withother applications and operating system.

In some implementations, one or more methods can be implemented inconjunction with display of a user interface on an output device of asystem. For example, the user interface can be a graphical userinterface (GUI) displayed on a display of a server device or clientdevice, e.g., a camera, phone, tablet, goggles, wearable device (watch,jewelry, etc.), laptop computer, desktop computer, head mounted display,etc. The GUI can offer menus and selections for the user to select andmanipulate with an input device, e.g., a touchscreen, mouse, trackpad,voice recognition microphone, etc. For example, the user interface canbe provided by a presentation display application, communicationapplication, or other type of application, in some implementations.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example device 1500 which may be usedto implement some implementations described herein. In someimplementations, device 1500 may be a computer device used to implementa server device, e.g., server device 104 of FIG. 1, and performappropriate method implementations described herein. Server device 1500can be any suitable computer system, server, or other electronic orhardware device. For example, the server device 1500 can be a mainframecomputer, desktop computer, workstation, portable computer, orelectronic device (portable device, cell phone, smart phone, tabletcomputer, television, TV set top box, personal digital assistant (PDA),media player, wearable device, game device, etc.). In someimplementations, server device 1500 includes a processor 1502, a memory1504, and input/output (I/O) interface 1506.

Processor 1502 can be one or more processors or processing circuits toexecute program code and control basic operations of the device 1500. A“processor” includes any suitable hardware and/or software system,mechanism or component that processes data, signals or otherinformation. A processor may include a system with a general-purposecentral processing unit (CPU), multiple processing units, dedicatedcircuitry for achieving functionality, or other systems. Processing neednot be limited to a particular geographic location, or have temporallimitations. For example, a processor may perform its functions in“real-time,” “offline,” in a “batch mode,” etc. Portions of processingmay be performed at different times and at different locations, bydifferent (or the same) processing systems. A computer may be anyprocessor in communication with a memory.

Memory 1504 is typically provided in device 1500 for access by theprocessor 1502, and may be any suitable processor-readablenon-transitory storage medium, such as random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), Electrical Erasable Read-only Memory (EEPROM),Flash memory, etc., suitable for storing instructions for execution bythe processor, and located separate from processor 1502 and/orintegrated therewith. Memory 1504 can store software operating on theserver device 1500 by the processor 1502, including an operating system1508 and one or more applications 1510 such as a graphics editingengine, web hosting engine, social networking engine, etc. In someimplementations, applications 1510 can include instructions that enableprocessor 1502 to perform the functions described herein, e.g., some orall of the methods of FIGS. 2-5. For example, applications 1510 caninclude one or more presentation display engines 1512, including anapplication to display computer presentations having visual content frommultiple sources (e.g., video and other streams of data) on a displaycomponent of the device. A presentation display application, forexample, can provide a displayed user interface responsive to user inputto display computer presentations with selected options. Otherapplications or engines 1514 can also or alternatively be included inapplications 1510, e.g., graphics or image editing applications,communication applications, web hosting engine or application, socialnetworking engine or application, etc. Any of software in memory 1504can alternatively be stored on any other suitable storage location orcomputer-readable medium. In addition, memory 1504 (and/or otherconnected storage device(s)) can store received visual content (e.g.,video and data streams and/or images), thresholds, user preferences,and/or other instructions and data used in the features describedherein. Memory 1504 and any other type of storage (magnetic disk,optical disk, magnetic tape, or other tangible media) can be considered“storage devices.”

I/O interface 1506 can provide functions to enable interfacing theserver device 1500 with other systems and devices. For example, networkcommunication devices, storage devices such as memory and/or database106, and input/output devices can communicate via interface 1506. Insome implementations, the I/O interface can connect to interface devicessuch as input devices (keyboard, pointing device, touchscreen,microphone, camera, scanner, etc.) and output devices (display device,speaker devices, printer, motor, etc.). A display device 1520 is oneexample of an output device that can be used to display content, e.g.,content included in a computer presentation as described herein. Displaydevice 1520 can be connected to device 1500 via local connections (e.g.,display bus) and/or via networked connections and can be any suitabledisplay device, some examples of which are described below.

For ease of illustration, FIG. 15 shows one block for each of processor1502, memory 1504, I/O interface 1506, and software blocks 1508 and1510. These blocks may represent one or more processors or processingcircuitries, operating systems, memories, I/O interfaces, applications,and/or software modules. In other implementations, server device 1500may not have all of the components shown and/or may have other elementsincluding other types of elements instead of, or in addition to, thoseshown herein. While system 102 is described as performing blocks andoperations as described in some implementations herein, any suitablecomponent or combination of components of system 102 or similar system,or any suitable processor or processors associated with such a system,may perform the blocks and operations described.

A client device can also implement and/or be used with one or morefeatures described herein, such as any of client devices 120-126 shownin FIG. 1. Example client devices can be computer devices including somesimilar components as the device 1500, such as processor(s) 1502, memory1504, and I/O interface 1506. An operating system, software andapplications suitable for the client device can be provided in memoryand used by the processor, such as client group communicationapplication software. The I/O interface for a client device can beconnected to network communication devices, as well as to input andoutput devices such as a microphone for capturing sound, a camera forcapturing images or video, audio speaker devices for outputting sound, adisplay device for outputting images or video, or other output devices.A display device 1520, for example, can be connected to (or included in)the device 1500 to display the images pre- and post-processing asdescribed herein, where such device can include any suitable displaydevice such as an LCD, LED, or plasma display screen, CRT, television,monitor, touchscreen, 3-D display screen, projector, or other visualdisplay device. Some implementations can provide an audio output device,such as voice output or synthesis that speaks text.

One or more methods described herein can be run in a standalone programthat can be run on any type of computing device, a program run on a webbrowser, a mobile application (“app”) run on a mobile computing device(e.g., cell phone, smart phone, tablet computer, wearable device(wristwatch, armband, jewelry, headwear, goggles, glasses, etc.), laptopcomputer, etc.). In one example, a client/server architecture can beused, e.g., a mobile computing device (as a client device) sends userinput data to a server device and receives from the server the finaloutput data for output (e.g., for display). In another example, allcomputations can be performed within the mobile app (and/or other apps)on the mobile computing device. In another example, computations can besplit between the mobile computing device and one or more serverdevices.

Although the description has been described with respect to particularimplementations thereof, these particular implementations are merelyillustrative, and not restrictive. Concepts illustrated in the examplesmay be applied to other examples and implementations.

In situations in which the systems discussed here may collect personalinformation about users, or may make use of personal information, usersmay be provided with an opportunity to control whether programs orfeatures collect user information (e.g., information about a user'ssocial network, user characteristics (age, gender, profession, etc.),social actions or activities, a user's preferences, or a user's currentlocation). In addition, certain data may be treated in one or more waysbefore it is stored or used, so that personally identifiable informationis removed. For example, a user's identity may be treated so that nopersonally identifiable information can be determined for the user, or auser's geographic location may be generalized where location informationis obtained (such as to a city, ZIP code, or state level), so that aparticular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, a user mayhave control over how information is collected about the user and usedby a server.

Note that the functional blocks, operations, features, methods, devices,and systems described in the present disclosure may be integrated ordivided into different combinations of systems, devices, and functionalblocks as would be known to those skilled in the art. Any suitableprogramming language and programming techniques may be used to implementthe routines of particular implementations. Different programmingtechniques may be employed such as procedural or object-oriented. Theroutines may execute on a single processing device or multipleprocessors. Although the steps, operations, or computations may bepresented in a specific order, the order may be changed in differentparticular implementations. In some implementations, multiple steps oroperations shown as sequential in this specification may be performed atthe same time.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method to prioritizedisplay of visual content in a computer presentation, the methodcomprising: obtaining first visual content and second visual contentassociated with the first visual content, wherein the first visualcontent and the second visual content include a plurality of pixels;providing a display of the computer presentation by a display device,wherein the computer presentation includes the first visual contentdisplayed in a presentation area of the computer presentation, whereinan amount of information is displayed in the first visual content andvaries over time during the display of the first visual content;determining that a first presentation priority of the first visualcontent is reduced based on a determination that, for at least athreshold period of time, less than a threshold number of pixels of thedisplayed first visual content have changed, wherein the thresholdperiod of time is variable and is based on the amount of informationcurrently displayed in the first visual content; and in response todetermining that the first presentation priority is reduced, improving avisibility of a display of the second visual content in the computerpresentation.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the amount of informationincludes a number of words, and wherein the threshold period of time isvariable and is based on the number of words simultaneously displayed inthe first visual content.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein improving thevisibility of the display of the second visual content in the computerpresentation includes displaying the second visual content to be atleast partially overlapping the first visual content such that anoverlapped portion of the first visual content is not displayed.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the first visual content is divided into aplurality of different portions simultaneously displayed, wherein thedifferent portions are associated with a plurality of differentrespective presentation priorities and the first presentation priorityis one of the different respective presentation priorities and isassociated with one or more first portions of the first visual content,and wherein determining that the first presentation priority is reducedincludes determining that the first presentation priority is reducedrelative to one or more other presentation priorities of one or moreother portions of the first visual content, and wherein improving thevisibility of the display of the second visual content includes causingdisplay of the second visual content to overlap the one or more firstportions of the first visual content and causing the display of thesecond visual content to not overlap the one or more other portions ofthe first visual content.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein determiningthat the first presentation priority is reduced includes: comparing thefirst presentation priority with a second presentation priorityassociated with the second visual content; and determining that thefirst presentation priority is reduced relative to the secondpresentation priority and the second presentation priority is higherthan the first presentation priority.
 6. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, in response to determining that the first presentationpriority is reduced, reducing a visibility of the first visual contentin addition to improving the visibility of the second visual content inthe computer presentation in accordance with the reduction of the firstpresentation priority.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the display ofthe computer presentation does not include the display of the secondvisual content prior to the improving the visibility of the display ofthe second visual content, and wherein improving the visibility of thesecond visual content includes adding the display of the second visualcontent to the computer presentation.
 8. The method of claim 3 wherein auser pointer is displayed in the computer presentation, the user pointerhaving a displayed position in the computer presentation controlled by auser and referencing the display of the first visual content, whereindetermining that the first presentation priority is reduced includesdetermining that the displayed position of the user pointer has beendifferent than a displayed position of the first visual content for atleast the threshold period of time, and further comprising: determiningwhether the user pointer has been moved to a position corresponding tothe overlapped portion of the first visual content; and in response todetermining that the user pointer has been moved to the positioncorresponding to the overlapped portion of the first visual content,reducing the visibility of the display of the second visual content tocause display of the overlapped portion of the first visual content. 9.The method of claim 1 wherein a user pointer is displayed in thecomputer presentation, the user pointer having a position in thecomputer presentation controlled by a user and referencing the displayof the first visual content, wherein determining that the firstpresentation priority is reduced includes: determining a distance of theposition of the user pointer in the computer presentation from adisplayed position of the first visual content in the computerpresentation; and reducing the first presentation priority in responseto determining that the distance of the position of the user pointer inthe computer presentation is at least a threshold distance from thedisplayed position of the first visual content.
 10. The method of claim1 wherein the threshold period of time is a first threshold period oftime, and further comprising: after determining that the firstpresentation priority is reduced, determining that the firstpresentation priority is additionally reduced based on a determinationthat, for at least a second threshold period of time after the firstthreshold period of time, less than the threshold number of pixels ofthe displayed first visual content have changed; and in response todetermining that the first presentation priority is additionallyreduced, further improving the visibility of the display of the secondvisual content in addition to the improving the visibility of thedisplay of the second visual content.
 11. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, after the improving the visibility of the display of thesecond visual content: determining that the first presentation priorityis increased based on a second determination that more than a secondthreshold number of pixels of the first visual content have changed; andin response to determining that the first presentation priority isincreased, improving the visibility of the display of the first visualcontent in the computer presentation.
 12. The method of claim 11 whereinimproving the visibility of the display of the first visual contentincludes removing the display of the second visual content from thedisplay of the computer presentation.
 13. The method of claim 11 whereina user pointer is displayed in the computer presentation, the userpointer having a position in the computer presentation controlled by auser and referencing the display of the first visual content, whereindetermining that the first presentation priority is increased includesdetermining the user pointer is pointing to a portion of the firstvisual content that is at least partially overlapped by the display ofthe second visual content.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein a userpointer is displayed in the computer presentation, the user pointerhaving a position in the computer presentation controlled by a user andreferencing the display of the first visual content, wherein the firstvisual content is divided into a plurality of different portionssimultaneously displayed, wherein the different portions are associatedwith a plurality of different respective presentation priorities and thefirst presentation priority is one of the different respectivepresentation priorities, and further comprising: in response to the userpointer referencing a particular portion of the different portions ofthe first visual content: increasing the presentation priorityassociated with the particular portion; and reducing the visibility ofthe display of the second visual content in response to the secondvisual content being displayed at a position in the computerpresentation overlapping at least a part of the particular portion. 15.The method of claim 1 wherein the first visual content includes asequence of slides and the second visual content includes audio dataderived from verbal speech provided by at least one associated user, andfurther comprising: detecting a correspondence of one or more words inthe verbal speech with text words displayed in the sequence of slides,and in response to detecting the correspondence, increasing the firstpresentation priority of the first visual content.
 16. A system toprioritize display of visual content in a computer presentation, thesystem comprising: a storage device; and at least one processoroperative to access the storage device and operative to performoperations comprising: obtaining first visual content and second visualcontent associated with the first visual content, wherein the firstvisual content and second visual content include a plurality of pixels,wherein the first visual content excludes a visual representation of auser, and wherein the second visual content includes a visualrepresentation of at least one user associated with the computerpresentation; providing a display of the computer presentation by adisplay device, wherein the computer presentation includes the firstvisual content displayed in a presentation area of the computerpresentation and wherein the computer presentation excludes the displayof the second visual content, wherein an amount of information isdisplayed in the first visual content and varies over time during thedisplay of the first visual content; determining that a firstpresentation priority of the first visual content is reduced based on adetermination that, for at least a threshold period of time, less than athreshold number of pixels of the first visual content have changed,wherein the threshold period of time is variable and is based on theamount of information currently displayed in the first visual content;and in response to determining that the first presentation priority isreduced, improving a visibility of a display of the second visualcontent in the computer presentation, wherein improving the visibilityof the display of the second visual content includes adding the displayof the second visual content in the computer presentation that overlapsat least a portion of the first visual content while the first visualcontent is displayed in the computer presentation such that theoverlapped at least a portion of the first visual content is notdisplayed in the computer presentation.
 17. The system of claim 16wherein the first visual content is divided into a plurality ofdifferent portions simultaneously displayed, wherein the differentportions are associated with a plurality of different respectivepresentation priorities, wherein the first presentation priority is oneof the different respective presentation priorities and is associatedwith one or more first portions of the first visual content, whereindetermining that the first presentation priority is reduced includesdetermining that the first presentation priority is reduced relative toone or more other presentation priorities of one or more other portionsof the first visual content, and wherein improving the visibility of thedisplay of the second visual content includes causing display of thesecond visual content to overlap the one or more first portions of thefirst visual content and causing the display of the second visualcontent to not overlap the one or more other portions of the firstvisual content.
 18. The system of claim 16 wherein the first visualcontent includes a sequence of slides, and further comprising operationsafter the improving of the visibility of the display of the secondvisual content, the operations comprising: determining that the firstpresentation priority is increased based on a determination that morethan the threshold number of pixels of the first visual content havechanged, wherein the more than the threshold number of pixels include adisplay of a new slide in the first visual content in place of aprevious slide in the sequence of slides of the first visual content;and in response to determining that the first presentation priority isincreased, improving the visibility of the display of the first visualcontent in the computer presentation by removing the display of thesecond visual content from the computer presentation.
 19. Anontransitory computer readable medium having stored thereon softwareinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toprioritize display of visual content in a computer presentation byperforming operations including: obtaining first visual content andsecond visual content associated with the first visual content, whereinthe first visual content and second visual content each include aplurality of frames to be displayed in sequence, each frame including aplurality of pixels, wherein at least some frames of the plurality offrames include different amounts of information; providing a display ofthe computer presentation by a display device, wherein the computerpresentation includes first visual content displayed in a presentationarea of the computer presentation; determining that a particular frameof the plurality of frames of the first visual content has beendisplayed in the presentation area for at least a threshold amount oftime, wherein the threshold amount of time is variable and is based onan amount of information displayed in the particular frame; and inresponse to the determination, improving a visibility of a display ofthe second visual content in the computer presentation.
 20. Thenontransitory computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the firstvisual content is divided into a plurality of different portionssimultaneously displayed, wherein the different portions are associatedwith a plurality of respective presentation priorities, wherein thecomputer presentation does not include the display of the second visualcontent prior to the improving the visibility of the display of thesecond visual content, wherein improving a visibility of the secondvisual content includes adding the display of the second visual contentto the computer presentation, wherein adding the second visual contentincludes determining that the second visual content is displayedoverlapping one or more portions of the first visual content that have alower presentation priority than the second visual content.